


The black and red lions have my back.

by ShineBrightStarLight



Series: August Writer's Month 2019 [15]
Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Alternate Universe - Soulmates, M/M, Romantic Soulmates, Shiro and Keith aren't actually together, pre Kerberous, yet - Freeform
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-08-16
Updated: 2019-08-16
Packaged: 2020-09-02 10:56:54
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 825
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20274784
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ShineBrightStarLight/pseuds/ShineBrightStarLight
Summary: Keith has two marks on his back. One, a black lioness and the other a red one. He's had them since the day he met Takashi Shirogane. Oh, and they're sentient.For Day 16 of Writer's Month; trope prompt; soulmates





	The black and red lions have my back.

**Author's Note:**

> I've never been much of a fan of soulmate au's, so sorry if this isn't great? Again, unedited, sorry :(

Ever since Keith could remember, he has had a black mark on his shoulder. It wasn’t something he ever really consciously thought about – besides his dads warning not to mention it to anyone – until after his dad died. 

The first foster parent to see it had screeched and asked a lot of questions that nine year old Keith barely understood. But he had understood enough, and the implications that these people thought Keith’s dad had tattooed Keith when he was a baby was enough to make Keith sick. He knew his dad had never, ever hurt him. 

Still, since Keith had no memory of the event, and the man himself was dead, that was what it was ruled as, and Keith had no way of proving otherwise. 

As Keith grew, so did the tattoo, stretching and distorting with his skin. Keith never really looked at it, sure it was ugly and unrecognisable now. 

Until he met Takashi Shirogane. 

The moment he set eyes on him, from the back of the class, his shoulder burned. He gasped and clutched it, but luckily nobody noticed. 

Nobody except Shiro. 

Keith spent the rest of the day avoiding Shiro and trying to find a good time to hide in the bathroom. 

Because birthmarks don’t just suddenly burn. Neither do tattoos, not after years and years of being imprinted on his skin. 

He managed to sneak away, and he found the least used bathroom. He pulled off his shirt, and turned, but paused. He was suddenly scared. He didn’t remember what the mark looked like, and he was scared to see what had happened to it. 

He looked in the mirror, and gasped. Two lioness’, one red, one black, lay across his shoulder blades. Their tails were intertwined, and they lay facing each other, noses pressed together. But that wasn’t what caught Keith’s attention. 

Their ears flicked and swivelled, as though listening to the sounds on some far off African plain. Their tails twitched. The red lioness lifted her head and yawned. Keith caught sight of glistening teeth. Keith clamped a hand over his mouth to keep himself from screaming. 

Keith knew he could never tell anyone about his lions. Anyone. Ever. It was weird enough that the mark had suddenly expanded on its own, but that it gained sentience? It could only end badly for Keith. The only thing Keith was sure of, was that it had something to do with Shiro. 

Keith joined the Garrison, both as a way to stay near Shiro and because he was genuinely interested. He wanted to learn more about his marks too, and presumed the best way to do that was to be in close proximity to Shiro. 

It was hard though, having someone who was genuinely invested in his well being around.

Keith learned some things about his lioness’s pretty quickly. Firstly, they either couldn’t or didn’t want to leave his shoulder blades. They moved around, sometimes curling up together, sometimes sitting and staring right at Keith in the mirror, but they never left the general area. 

Secondly, they liked when Shiro was around. He could feel them moving, twisting and tumbling across his skin. It gave him goose bumps and wasn’t entirely pleasant.

Thirdly, they seemed to understand him, his feelings, emotions, thoughts and actions. He spend some time speaking to them, although they never spoke back. 

And lastly (and probably Keith favourite, although he would never admit it) was the fact that they could purr. He couldn’t hear it, but he could feel the vibrations reverberating through his skin and into his rib cage. It was comforting in ways Keith couldn’t even begin to describe. 

Eventually though, Keith put them to the back of his mind. Shiro was going to Kerberous, soon. Adam had just broken up with him, and Keith was beginning to develop an unrequited crush on his mentor and only friend.

The lioness’s kept him company during his year in the desert. They kept him sane while he searched for something that was calling him out there. They purred for him while he screamed and cried, begging for the universe to give Shiro back.

They moved from his shoulder blades, for the first and only time, when he discovered the Blue Lion. He could feel them, Red on his right collar bone and Black on his left, their tails intertwined around the nape of his neck. All three of them stared up at this massive beast in awe. Keith wondered if the lions were a coincidence. 

The black lion went haywire on day, pacing along his back while Red watched. As dusk approached, she got even more frantic. Keith took his hoverbike out into the desert, letting her lead him. 

She led him straight to Shiro. 

Keith still didn’t know where the lions came from, but he knew one thing. They connected him to Shiro, in one way or another. 

They connected him to his love.


End file.
